Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Potato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash, peel, and slice the potatoes, then soak them in cold water.
Peel and slice the onion.
If using celery seeds, tie them in a piece of muslin; if using celery, wash and clean it.
Make the soup
Melt the dripping in a pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and potatoes, stirring for 5 minutes without browning them.
Pour in the water and half the milk, add the celery or seeds, cover, and boil gently until the potatoes are soft.
Stir the soup frequently to prevent boiling away the liquid.
Remove from heat and strain through a wire sieve.
Rinse the pan, return the soup, and add the remaining milk along with salt and pepper.
Boil well and serve hot with macaroni that has been cut into short pieces and boiled in salted water until tender.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,047 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Break down when boiled to thicken the soup and give it body.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and softness to the soup's texture and flavour.
- Dripping
- Fat that carries flavour from the pan and enriches the soup.
- Onion
- Adds aromatic flavour as it softens in the fat.
- Macaroni
- Adds bite and substance as a served addition to the soup.
The step that matters
Stirring the onion and potatoes without browning them. Gentle cooking in fat softens the vegetables and builds mild flavour. Browning would add a different, darker taste and can scorch the bottom of the pan.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, onion, butter, milk, pepper):
- Garlicfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Thymefits better
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, onion, butter, milk, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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